The mojave princess and the emo sniper
by Kita On'nanoko Laurant
Summary: The adventures of a mysterious courier and her ex-first recon friend. With the two-headed bear on her left and the bull on her right, which side will succeed? Or will her past change her decisions? Occasional cursing. Pairing towards the end.
1. Welcome to Goodsprings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own new vegas or the fallout franchise. I'm simply a fan.

_For my brother_

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><p><em>My head feels so fuzzy. I sit up trying to come to grips with my head. Through the dizziness, I see a dark room, some large equipment of some type, a ceiling fan, and a figure. This doesn't feel very familiar, but comforting. How and when did I get here?<em>

* * *

><p>"Ah, so you're finally comin' to."<p>

My vision clears as I rub my eyes and I see an old man sitting next to me with a smile on his face.

"mmnn huh?"

"Most of us 'round here didn't think you'd make it, but by golly you sure did."

I sat up and blinked a few times.

"You were near dead when that robot dug you up. I'm surprised the _first_ bullet didn't kill ya."

"The first bullet?" I murmured

"I yep, found two 9mm bullets in your noggin."

"Wh-when was I shot?"

The old man gave me a sad look.

"Sorry, I don't know much. They brought you in here a few days ago and that's the first time I'd heard about you. Maybe you can help me piece together who you are, for the paperwork of coarse."

"Oh...ok then..." I muttered as I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

"Let's try to get you moving." He said as he grabbed my upper arms and helped me stand up.

I instantly was seeing double and I had to stand there a minute and blink to get the gears in my head turning. Those bullets must have done some damage. My only question was why did I get them. I didn't remember much besides the man in the checkered-co

"Wa-Was there a man in a checkered coat in town a few days ago?" I asked

"I'm not too sure I've seen one. I've been stuck in my house since before they brought you in."

* * *

><p>I followed him into what looked to be a living room. I plopped down on the couch as he grabbed a clipboard off of a bookshelf. His place seemed pleasant enough for a being a house in the wasteland. It wasn't exactly bright, but it had a warm feeling to it. I remembered being somewhere once that had a similar feeling to it, but it didn't register where it was at. Maybe it had just been memories of a dream. Not many Mojave towns had nice houses.<p>

"Name?"

I looked up at him with a confused look on my face.

"What?"

"What's your name? It's for the paperwork."

I thought about it for a moment. What was my name? Did I have one? After a few minutes something came up, but I wasn't too sure about it.

"Claudia...Claudia Reed..."

"Good. Year of birth?"

"uhh..."

"It's okay, not many folks keep track of that anymore. You look about 20, so 19. 2262 it is."

I wondered if I really was about that old. What if I was younger? What if I was actually only like 12? What if I was like 30 something? My bazaar thoughts were stopped with the next question.

"Can you fill out this form? It's not like you probably have a family history of getting shot in the head, it's just a formality."

Around 9 o'clock that morning I left the doctor's house with a blue and yellow jumpsuit, a device on my left arm called a "pipboy 3000" and a paper about a courier delivering a poker chip. I was that courier, but I lost the poker chip. I had a strong suspicion that the man in checkered coat had something to do with it.

Then I walked out of that town, Goodsprings, with a 10mm in hand and the sun at my back, to look for that checker-coated man.

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><p>an: I don't mean to offend anyone by the use of "emo". It started purely as a joke when my brother and I were describing the companions to a friend of ours.

I'll update when I can (aka this isn't going to come out a certain time).


	2. Primm's on lockdown

Heading down the long 15, I came to the town of Primm where I was stopped by a man with a weird hat-thing with goggles on it.

"Sorry ma'am, Primm's off limits."

I took a good look at the town. Besides from a few drums with fires in them, you could hardly see any life there. I couldn't really see a problem with it.

"Why? Just looks empty."

"For a full explanation of our situation, I suggest you go see Lieutenant Hayes. He's in charge of our operation here."

I rolled my eyes at his roboticness and muttered a "uh-huh", sticking my tongue out as soon as I walked past him. Who told him to be my boss? Plus, how am I supposed to know who this "Lieutenant" is? Jerk.

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><p>The outskirts of this town were desolate aside from a few tents and the wandering persons in the same out fit as the one guy. They all seemed to be looking at me as I wandered around, looking for this "Lieutenant" guy. I don't blame them though, it looked pretty boring in this town. They probably don't get to see much in one spot.<p>

"Watch yourself" one of them told me as I made my way closer to the tents.

Then I had some what of a hard decision; which one these tents contain the "lieutenant" guy? I didn't think too much about it, since I had my pistol on my hip if one of 'em decided I wandered in to the wrong tent. So, I just picked the one to the far left.

Inside, I found a man walking back and forth with his hand behind his back and his head hung low. Upon closing the metal door, he looked up. It looked like I was the first person he'd seen in days, the way he looked at me. For a second I felt pitty. In the next, I felt as though he was a bit too down.

"What's you're purpose here, ma'am? Have they finally gotten off their asses to send us reinforcements?"

"Uh no. I'll assume you're this "Lieutenant" guy I've been hearing about."

"Yeah, I'm Lieutenant Hayes, New California Republic Army, 5th Battalion, 1st company." He said proudly.

_What the hell is a New California Republic?_

"Okay then...What's the problem?"

He looked down and sighed. Oh great, a pitty speech. I seriously wanted to tell him "Lay it on me", but I kept it to myself. Better not to walk out of this place with bullet holes in me. The big bad men outside might try to put some more in there.

"NCRCF- That's NCR correctional facility- was over run by it's prisoners. They killed all of the guards that couldn't escape. Now they've taken the whole town of Primm hostage."

"Can't you guys deal with it?"

"Not with our numbers. We're stretch too thin, we've got to have troops on the outskirts of town to warn citizens and get rid of anymore powder ganger threats."

Without thinking, I blurted out:

"What if I got rid of the convicts for you?"

"Well..." he paused "We wouldn't be able to give you a big reward. We're kind of short on supplies right now as it is."

"Don't worry about it." I said bravely and turned towards the metal door before he could refuse.

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><p>Then I strolled on over to the Bison Steve Hotel where the convicts we hiding. Outside, I was almost shot twice by two different men. Lady luck was on my side though and I dodged 'em and got two head shots. By the time I was in the hotel, I'd had a nice small warm up.<p>

The first thing I saw in the hotel was it's darkness. It was obvious that the convicts didn't want to be seen or were in the other side of the building. Either way, if I wanted to stay safe I couldn't have my pipboy light on. I really liked having that thing on because it could let me see things that I normally couldn't without a lantern, something I didn't have.

"BANG"

I dropped to the floor as a gun was fired. They knew I was there. Focusing through the darkness, I brought my handgun up to eye level. Footsteps were close by and as soon as something moved I fired at it. A convict started screamin' and popped up into view. I shot him twice in the head before he fell dead and spraying blood from where the bullets had struck him. Then I quickly grabbed anything of value off his body. It wasn't long before another convict came and started looking for him. Three shots to the head and he was down too with a nice thud. I waited there patently for another convict to come around the corner.

Nothing happened for another 10 minutes, so I assumed that the convicts weren't coming back for their comrades. I slowly got to my feet and started around the corner. A light was on near the elevators, but no one was around. I turned to the elevators, but they didn't work.

"Probably haven't moved in years" I muttered

I soon found myself walking toward another lighted room. Before I could blink, there was yelling. I had walked into the room full of convicts!

"Looks like we got a little heroine here." one sneered

Then one of them fired what sounded like a rifle, so I ducked and started firing at them. The first one down was the one who made the comment, then the one who first fired and they went down, one by one. When I was the only one in the room left, I discovered that I had a gash on my right shoulder where a bullet had run across the top two layers of my skin. Man, that thing fucking hurt.

I turned to a door to the right of me, about 15 feet way. As I was turning the doorknob, a deep voice said:

"Don't come any closer. I'll shoot!"

I rolled my eyes and snapped the door open and raised my gun about where the convict might be. Much to my surprise, there was no convict. There was only a man tied up and on his knees towards the back of the room.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"D-don't shoot!" he begged

"Are you like the outcast of the outcasts or something?" I asked him

"N-no, I'm the deputy. I'm Deputy Beagle. I got kidnapped by those escaped convicts when the town got overrun. They killed the sheriff and my sister."

"_Wow, and you're the deputy?"_

"Sorry ma'am, they did it during the night. No one saw them come into town. They took out Sheriff McBlain first. They were real quiet and snuck into my house right before they started roundin' everybody up into the Vikki and Vance."

"Is everybody still there?"

"I don't know, ma'am. Like I said, they kidnapped me before they herded everyone into the casino."

"Well can we go there now? Looks like I took out the convicts."

"Yeah, I guess so. B-but we gotta be careful, because I heard them talking about having guards outside."

"and? It's not like I can't take down a few crooks." I said proudly.

So we carefully walked out of the Bison Steve and on to the street where a bunch of guards were waiting for us.

"Where do ya think you're goin'?"

"I know where I'm going, but I'm not sure you do." I smirked as I raised my 10mm

Our skirmish quickly begun as they whipped out their 9mm's and combat knifes. One of them dashed towards me, but I jumped back and shot him twice in the lungs before punching his head, sending him to the ground. The next guy tried to strangle me, but I ducked and sent a bullet into the back of his neck, cutting through the spinal cord and cutting off his oxygen from his brain. The rest of the convicts were relatively easy to kill, with only having to aim and pull the trigger.

* * *

><p>I walked into the casino, covered in blood. The first person to notice me, immediately came over and started looking over the stains. He was older, dark-skinned man with short black hair. He seemed to be quite concerned with me for some reason.<p>

"You're not a convict, nor a traveler. I remember you from somewhere, but I'm not too sure..." He said

"I'm a courier"

"Ah, that may make some since. I run the Mojave Express branch in this town. I see a lot of couriers come by, at least I used to...before the convicts...Anyway, do you have some type of ID?"

I took the note from my pocket and handed it to him.

"I don't have the package anymore, somebody stole it from me and shot me and left me for dead in the Goodsprings cemetery."

"Well, that package had strange written all over it." he said and chuckled "The guy who originally was supposed to take it rejected it when he saw your name on the list. He said _"Let Courier Six take the package"_."

"Do you know anything about the package."

"Can't say I do, other than it's a large metal poker chip."

Maybe I could get a little more information from him...

"Have you seen a man in checkered coat around here?"

I didn't remember much from the night I was shot, but I remembered seeing a man in checkered coat and silver gun and few men dressed in leather.

"Nope. Maybe you should check in Nipton. A lot of people come this way through Nipton."

* * *

><p>After assuring the town that they were safe, I left Primm and headed southeast towards Ivanpah dry lake and Nipton. I really wanted to settle it with the man in the checker-coat soon.<p> 


	3. Mr Fox

My trip to Nipton was stopped for a little while. I'd decided not to take the I-15 route and went across Ivanpah lake instead, trying to use it as a short cut. Bad decision.

Ivanpah dry lake and Ivanpah race track were littered with these giant ants. Think I was bitten twice on the arms and once on my right leg. Man, they stung! They kept me fighting on the track for about twenty minutes. There had to at least been fifteen of them crawling around me...Then I ran out of ammo with five to go. I literally ran around the track with the ants only behind me, looking for something to use as a weapon. Luckily I found a rucksack at what been the starting/finish line. Inside was a bent pipe of some sort, a bottle of water, bandages, a waistcoat (probably from a suit), khakis and some caps. I grabbed the pipe and started smacking the crap out of those ants.

Tired from the struggle with the giant ants, I grabbed up the rucksack -with everything inside of it- and walked towards Nipton.

* * *

><p>Nipton wasn't at all what I had expected it to be. First I was greeted by this man who was yelling and "yahooing". He looked like one of those convicts from Primm, so I greeted his ass with my pipe (they became bff's). Then there were fires burning in the middle of town and people were on all of the telephone polls in a crucifying way. Turning away from the main road, I saw the "Town Hall" which looked as though it wasn't touched. It made me really curious as to what happened to the politicians when this went down. Maybe if I was lucky I could find some ammo and food in there.<p>

I was stopped however, about fifteen feet away from it's double doors. This group of men dressed in such an odd fashion came out of the building. It was kinda creepy how they flooded out of that place and into a type of arch formation with one creepy looking guy in the middle. I just walked up to them with a curious look on my face as I turned my head a bit, looking around at the different people hanging on the telephone poles and the impaled heads on the sticks.

"Don't worry, I won't have you bound to a cross like the rest of these degenerates." The one in the middle with a dog hat on said.

"Well" I said in a manner that you use if you were sizing someone up.

"I must say that I am some what impressed, assuming you guys were the cause of this. Considering this makes Primm look like fucking child's play."

"I want you to witness the fate of Nipton, to memorize everything. And then when you move on? To teach everyone around you the lesson Caesar's Legion taught here, especially any troopers you may find."

"So what's the lesson, teacher?" I asked casually.

He was slightly taken back by sarcasm, but none the less continued.

"Ah, where to start? That they are weak and we are strong. But that much was known already. Their moral sickness, their dissolution? Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson."

"So teacher, what'd you do here exactly?"

My sarcasm earned me a frown.

"Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served anyone as long as they paid...Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself. They didn't care...It was a town of whores.."

I was resisting the urge to ask_ "so you have experience here?"_ so much so that I cracked a smile.

"For a while, the town agreed to lead those it had sheltered in to a trap. Only when I sprang it did they realize that they were caught inside it, too."

"So...you captured everybody?"

"Yes, and herded them to the center of town and told them their sins. I told them that when legionaries are disloyal, few are punished and the others made to watch. Then I announced the lottery."

"Ok then..."

"Each man clutched his ticket, not caring that his family was being dragged away to die." A sickening grin appeared on his face.

"They do _seem_ like they had it coming for them..."

"Yes they did. As will the rest of them, in due time. Now go, and teach what you have learned here. There will be more lessons in the days ahead." He said before turning away.

"Wait! Hold up teacher!"

He stopped, but didn't turn around or speak.

"What's your name?"

"Why do you ask?"

This time he actually turned around.

"Because I like to keep note of all the men I meet and having a name helps a bit."

I could see him twitch a little. He was hesitating.

"I am...Vulpes Incluta.."

I nodded in an "Ok" fashion. Then something really strange popped into my head and my body started moving before I thought a lot about it.

I inched closer to him. My face was blank. He didn't move. When we were less then five inches a part I stood on my tip-toes so I reached about his height.

Then I reached up and squeezed one of the ears of the dog hat he was wearing. I squeezed again. And a third time.

That's when I could hear the men around us raising their weapons and I sprung back to where I originally was. I couldn't help but slightly giggling. They however, weren't too happy about it. But before anyone of them could attack me, Vulpes called them over to where he was going. They just glared at me and walked pass. One of them even told me to "Watch yourself profligate".

As they left, I looked around at the people on the poles. Shrugging, I started to walk through their homes to see if there was anything good left to loot.

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><p>There were a dozen or so houses in Nipton. Some houses looked completely fine and nothing was out of order, but some had obviously been ravaged by the legion. Those homes were messy. They had furniture tossed everywhere, food containers dumped on the floor, broken beyond repair toilets and sinks, dirty beds and blood splattered on the wall. Those were probably owned by people who had tried to resist.<p>

That night I finally changed into the khakis (which I rolled up into shorts), the vest, a nice-looking undershirt and a pair of boots I found laying around. I also made good use of the bandages. My skin was starting to dry out and burn from the Mojave sun, so wrapping my arms and legs in the bandage rolls was almost necessary to keep them from getting any worse. The bad thing about it though...I kinda looked like a half-mummy.

* * *

><p>The next morning I set out for the Nevada state line. There I was greeted by a group of raiders that I identified as being Vipers (it was on their clothing...). They had pipes and 10mms, but they had many in there group. I'm surprised that I didn't get to the next town with holes in me. They were crazy. There was no plan of attack, only attack where you think it might hurt. It only made things worse for me, who didn't have much knowledge of battle.<p>

I did it though. I got them before they could get me. That's how the world works, doesn't it? Survival of the fittest? Luckily, I got through the area with only a few scratches from the pocket knifes. I also left the bodies without their ammunition and med-x, figuring that I could use it better than they could.

* * *

><p>The road eventually ended at a "fork". There was an old pre-war highway sign that showed that Searchlight was ahead and Novac was to the north. The sky ahead looked kinda green and dark, so I decided to go with Novac. It would be a bit of a distance, but it looked more promising than Searchlight.<p>

Along the way to Novac was Ranger station Charlie. I didn't go into the mobile home surrounded property. I was curious about it, but as soon as I walked toward the entrance, I was stopped by a man. This man looked different than the guy who stopped me in Primm, but I could tell that they belonged to the same fraction.

Unlike the other guy, he was dressed in tan pants, a gray shirt and a bandolier. In a way, he kinda looked like the cowboy I read part of a book about in Nipton. I almost laughed, but then I saw he had the same look of authority that Lieutenant Hayes had. Was it standard in the New California Republic?

"I suggest you move on to Novac, Ma'am."

"I can carry myself just fine."

"There's been some legionaries spotted around here lately."

"Oh, that's what they call their people? Yeah I met some in Nipton. Leader-looking guy was nice. They set the whole town on fire, took everyone captive and had them play the lottery." I said calmly

"What the fuck?"

"Yeah, you might wanna have somebody check it out."

"T-thank you for the information, m-ma'am!" he stammered before running off to the station.

I just shook my head and got back on the road to Novac. These NCR guys really had sticks up their asses. I didn't understand what was so bad about the Legion. All I knew about them was they wanted to bring some justice to the unmoralness of people.

Before I knew it I was just a few hundred meters away from the large dinosaur and I was ready to start my search for information on that checker-coat man.

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><p>an: finally done with this chapter.

Wishin everybody a happy easter. If you don't really celebrate that kind of thing (moi aussi!), then may the cadbury bunny bring you much cheer.


	4. Author Update

Hello to everyone still reading this. I apologize for not writing anything in a long time. The school year was coming to a close and I wanted to finish the best I could. Now I will not be able to post anything probably til friday. I'm leaving on a trip to D.C (*f3 fangirl squeal*)and I won't be back til next tuesday. I'll try to be writing while I'm there, but it might be hard. I'm also going to be giving a heads up that I'm a freshman now and due to band camp my posting will not be consistant.  
>I just wanted to let you guys know, okay? <div> 


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